By the Swiss patent specification No. 575,515 a feeding device is previously known which comprises a rotary drum in the casing wall of which one or more openings are provided to serve as intakes with which blade-like elements cooperate, said blade elements projecting outwardly from the outside of the casing wall so as to rip and carry along goods and bring it into the interior of the drum through said intake upon rotation of the drum, means being provided inside the casing wall for conveying the goods introduced into the drum to an outlet opening at an end of the drum. This feeding device is made in the form of a snow-blowing machine by means of which snow can be picked up from the ground and fed to a conventional ejector tube which in turn blows out the snow in the desired direction.
In the above-mentioned structure the intake openings consist of holes arranged in several, more precisely two rings which are spaced apart along the longitudinal axis of the drum, though located close to each other, said rings each including a plurality of individual holes which are radially displaced relative to each other in the various rings in such a way that interspaces occur between the holes in adjacent rings. This means that the snow material will be introduced intermittently into the interior of the drum and bring about a comparatively irregular feeding of the material through and out of the device in question. Besides the holes are approximately square-shaped having a rather great area in comparison with the total area of the drum; a fact that entails the risk that stones or similar big and hard objects get into the interior of the drum and thereafter inflict damage on the drum as well as parts connected thereto.